Monday, 17 December 2012

Sorry I have not been talking to you my adoring fans, but I have been
rather busy since the masters.

What with work, kids, wife, and painting things for other people, my
life gets rather hectic at times!!

So I thought I better give my Orc view of the masters.As usual it was an excellently run Wellington
event, with fantastic terrain supplied by Mr Dunn.The atmosphere was great, with lots of banter
flying about.I even got into a toilet
fight with Mr St Clair!!

So onto my result.7th.To be honest I am disappointed with my
placing.I felt I had the tools to do
better, but made some silly mistakes and was unlucky in places.I was aiming for at least top half and didn’t
quite get there…Next time.

My games were all played against local players, and all were played in
great spirit and I enjoyed all of them immensely.Thanks guys.

My memory will be foggy so please forgive mistakes.I also took no photos.

GAME 1 – Pete Dunn – Skaven

My tactics going into this one was to rush him and try to stop dreaded
13th at all costs.

Start of the game was going to plan, with a wolf chariot flanking the
doomwheel and running it down.Then
killing the A-Bomb with the Mangler squig, only for it to get back up with 5
fucking wounds left AAAArrgggghhh!!! I HATE that frickin thing!! I managed to Foot the Stormvermin on my left
flank down to take a test and they failed to run off the board. The WLC blew
itself up which was fantastic.Pete had
some unfortunate luck with his Gutter runners not coming on till late game, but
I will take what I can get.I managed to
Hand my savages behind the Skaven lines and eventually get into the rear of the
bells unit.It was looking like a small
win for the Greenies, until the Skaven Get out of Jail free card was 6 diced……(13th)
and my Savages plus 2 Shamen and BSB that where fighting the Seer and Bell unit
were turned into Rats.A 800pt last turn
swing…. Always great fun and tense games against Pete, I will get you next time
RatKing.

14-6 to Pete

GAME 2 – Locky – Skaven

So two Skaven in a row….YAY for me!!Lockys list to be honest wasn’t as strong as Petes, so I was more
confident in this game, even though Locky is a very good player.Highlights were the A-Bomb rolling like 15
inches in its first turn to sit right in front of my lines, then fleeing the
charge of flanking trolls, and fleeing again from charging chariot to be chased
off the board.I managed to hand the
Savages again to the flank of the Furnace unit, and eventually grind them
down.Locky was unlucky with a failed
flank charge on my double warboss orcs, although I didn’t mind the charge, as I
had the crown in there, so would have held and then the Savages were going in
the rear.

19-1 to me.

GAME 3 – Tom Dunn – Daemons

So 2 Skaven and Daemons day 1……Couldn’t think of better…Yup.Tom was rockin double Letters both with
Flaming heralds, Metal sorcerer dude, and Slugtounge( GUO with balesword).

Now this is probably the only army that I faced that I felt I was
fucked from the start.Double flaming
Heralds mean my Trolls are fucked.Killing
blow means my characters can’t really go into the Letters.And a big fat Slugtounge running around
causing mahem!!Not to mention Tom is a
Daemon master, and I was in for a tough time.So pretty much Tom ran over the top of me this game.Only thing that I can remember, is the GUO
running into the savages, attacking the BSB,and causing no wounds, then taking 5-6
in return!! Tom needed to roll under 4 to stop the GUO popping, and promptly
rolled a 3.The GUO then proceeded on 1
wound to beat and run down the Savages after a rerollable ld 9 Steadfast test
was failed, overrunning into the Trolls and chasing them down the next
turn.I can’t even remember what I killed
other than the Herald of Tzeentch with a wolf chariot.Big win to Tom.He really played the match up well, and thoroughly
deserved the win and eventual Masters Title.Well done Mate.

19-1 to Tom

So end of day 1 and a mixed bag.Hopefully better things to come tomorrow.

Game 4 – Mike King – Lizardmen

Mike had a Light party Slaan, a couple of scarvets, engine of the gods,
3 saurus blocks and some skinks.I foolishly
placed my Manglers both on the front line, because we were playing meeting
engagementwe started close together and
if I could nab first turn Mike was in trouble.But I completely forgot about burning alignment, and lost both L.The trolls then spent 5 turns hacking the
engine down.Mike’s Slaan miscast on the
last turn, rolled a 1 for cupped balls, then rolled a 3 on the miscast table,
but managed to avoid the hole.

1

0-10 draw.

Game 5 – Raymond – Beasts

I think Beastmen are a good army, and better than most people think,
and with a former master pushing them round, it would be a tight game.This was watchtower and Ray won the right to
put something in it, but declined. This was great as it allowed me to put the
savages in there, and nothing is getting them out.Coming into the second day of the masters, I
was a bit behind the eightball, so decided to try and push for points.I pushed the savages out the far side of the
building to try and push for points, and put the trolls in the building. Then Ray turned his Death mage around and
cast purple sun down my lines, hitting the building, and killing 22 bigunz and
6 trolls…..Fuck.There was a large
amount of 6 dicing going on this game, from both sides.In the end, I had 1 model, my BSB, holding
the Tower against the hordes of beasts.

19-1 to Ray

Game 6 – Joel – Empire

So lots of knights and angry quarter packs running around.I was happy with this matchup, as mi list was
well built to take on armour.Joel was
very aggressive this game.He put the 5
Demis into the front of my double warboss orcs, I killed some and held, then
got the trolls into the flank and wiped them out.Then the 3 Demis came into the warboss orcs
and knight bus into trolls. Trolls got run down, and 3 demis got killed.Eventually the knight bus went into warboss
orcs, and the orcs eventually wore them down.

20 nil to the Orcs

So all in all it was a really fun tournament, and has only spurred me
further to get back next year and give a better showing.Thanks to the umpiresand everyone who helped out, was great
fun.Also congrats to all the place
getters, all well deserved.

Monday, 26 November 2012

I have a special guest today. Mr Rory Finnemore. Please make him feel welcome.

Rory’s take on the 2012 NZ MASTERS.

(Disclaimer – all statements herewith
are not necessarily a true reflection of what the author feels about
the participants, for instance Antony isn’t a nice guy, he’s
actually a real prick*)

Well, upon writing this I am only a few
short days away from my inaugural Warhammer Masters event.
Initially, I just missed out on making the top 12 in the country (not
due to my lack of genius and Warhammer acumen), but most probably I
chopped and changed lists too much over the year to get that innate
feeling for a list – so for this Masters event I thought I’d do
the same.

But before I delve into my own list I
thought I’d take the time to wander over some of the other
participant’s offerings to the Warhammer gods. I shall start in
order of worst to best (in my humblest of opinions), please note that
I have not included my own list; I will leave it as an object for
your disdain in other blogs.

So thank you Sam for letting me ramble
– and to the others, sit back and enjoy (or fume at) the
critiques....

11 PETER WILLIAMSON:

This guy is apparently pretty
good....however his list isn’t. I think he may have confused
Masters with FluffyCon – sorry pal you’re 10 months too late for
this year’s Fluffiest of Fluffies! Unless his tactic is lulling
his opposition into a false sense of security and unexpectedly
smashing them around the back of the head with a large, wet fish, I
shan’t think we’ll see this list in the top 10 ;-p

10 TIMOTHY JOSS:

Putting aside the fact that the last
time we played his bony dead men royally fucked my Empire up the
arse, in this Masters, I think his list will struggle against the
other armies. In terms of picking his army I think Tim has misjudged
the nature of the other lists he expected to encounter there. He
can’t put as much pressure on his opponent during the magic phase
with the single casket, too many armies have units that can deal with
the Tomb Guard and the single necrosphinx just doesn’t have the
impetus to capture the points for the big wins. See this list
getting run over (excluding T3 elves) by everyone.

In fact, I am so certain that this list
is shit house cellar-dweller that if Tim makes the top 3 at Masters I
WILL BUY HIM DINNER AND A PINT OF GOOD SOUTHERN ALE the next time he
is in Auckland for a tournament!

09 MIKE KING:

Famous New Zealand historian returned
to life to dominate the Warhammer world? No sadly not. This New
Zealander at war forgot to take some terradons or mounted scar
vets – and his Engine of the Gods, is like so last edition
Warhammer.

PS: I am really sorry if you are
related in any way to the author Michael King and are offended by
this....he rocks – Maramarua represent!

08 RAYMOND DICK:

Unlike what his name suggests, he is
actually a really top bloke and he has the ignominy of 8th
place. In part, due to the fact that he is taking Beastmen. Doombull
on a flying carpet? Say what?! Ovid will be turning in his grave
when this Alladin-isation bastardises his epic character on the
tourney battlefield. Top marks for creativity, but because he’s
taking beastmen, he’ll have more chance of catching a shit with wet
tissue paper than winning this tournament!

07 NEIL WILLIAMSON

An interesting list, however a little
bit one-trick-pony if you ask me. Since no one has actually asked
and that I’m just writing at you, expect this list to dominate some
armies (Empire, Elves, etc) and not so much against others (Timmy
will breathe a little easier if he gets matched up against this one).
Incredibly dependent on the Helcannons doing the bizzo.

Nice work though mate – impressed
that you have the balls to take a list like this. That’s
right....I like your balls.

06 LOCHLAN REID

When the two Skaven players at this
tournament were scrying the internet for “Internet-Skaven-Lists”
this particular player cut and paste the wrong one and didn’t
realise until after he submitted his list to James. Oh well, never
mind...this guy is actually a pretty good player, so he may finish
higher than what his list suggests. Pretty easy to kill the furnace
though bud, expect everyone to gun for it....

05 JOEL VAN DE VEN-LONG

His last name suggests that he has two
dads. However this confused chap has managed to put together a tidy
list. As I am a formerly astute general of the Empire (or F.A.G.E
for short) I think the area where Joel may be lacking is: 1x missing
helblaster...if you have a couple of small magic phases at the start
of the game then you’ll be hard pressed to take down any
threatening buses with searing doom, which no amount of KFC loving
will be able to rescue you from buddy....enjoy walking over KB hordes
with the chickens, I’m sure there’ll be a couple of long faces
staring across the table at you...

04 ANTONY KITSON

Well last years Master is taking his
tried and true. Some players would describe Antony as a bit of a
Master-trebuchet-tor, but really he’s a nice guy and not a prick*
at all. Even though he has a penchant for wearing t-shirts two sizes
smaller than he should.

In all seriousness this guy is a great
player. Brets kinda suck but imagine Antony as the Rocky Balboa of
the warhammer world – get into a street scrap with this guy and
he’s going to beat you up! Just as well the streets at this
tournament are lined with two trebs! FYI it’s “Gleaming Pennant”
not “Gleaming Pendant” probably the third time you have misnamed
this item. How does a pennant gleam anyway....? Look forward to his
crappy yellow dice that always roll 5’s and 6’s (I’m sure
they’re weighted).

03 SAM WHITT

When in Auckland this guy sleeps at my
house in Harry Potter’s bedroom. He loves this room so much he
asks for it on request even though there’s alternate sleeping
quarters....makes me wonder sometimes...

I really rate his list for Masters it
does a bit of everything well – choppy bus, strong magic, lots of
war machines, grindy-stompy block of trolls. Set to top the
tourney...maybe? He’ll have to have a little bit of luck on his
side if he’s to get past the next two lists. Sam always punches
above his weight with lower tier armies – truly a good player and a
worthy Master.

02 TOM DUNN

When most dads have a kid they’re
like “my sons going to be an All Black”....however when your dad
is the Jonah Lomu of the NZ wargaming scene there’s fat chance of
that happening!

I’ve never had the pleasure of
playing the Dunns, but with 6 games and two Dunn’s the odds are in
my favour! Tom’s list is as hard as they come, however I’ve
worked out its weakness (it does have them) so don’t sweat too much
folks, just stick to your game plan and you’ll go alright. I’m
surprised by the inclusion of only two Bloodletter blocks and this is
where I think its weakness is....but I’ll leave it for other folks
to work out!

01 PETER DUNN

This is the list to do the job, and
much has been already written about it.... However, like our own All
Blacks Pete cracks under pressure. Four more years? Quite possibly.
Or will he break his hoodoo like the AB’s did last year? I hear
from reliable sources that Peter starts to sweat when the opponent
isn’t fazed by the rep and sticks to the game plan. Pete knows
this game so, so well, and he’ll grind, outmanoeuvre and game other
players better than they can him (imagine Jonah and his giant Tongan
thighs bearing down on Mike Catt). However, I remember an NPC game
from the mid 90’s where Jonah Lomu was cut down by the diminutive
Stu Forster (1.70cm tall!) showing that everyone has their day and
that giants will fall...

Will Masters 2012 be yours at the end
of battles?

Roll on December 1st and
2nd!

Please remember if I haven’t offended
pretty much everyone with this post then I haven’t done my job!

Thursday, 22 November 2012

So I had 2 goals this year for my gaming, to win a tournament and make the 2012 Masters. Thankfully I was able to do both, winning Vermintide last year.

This will be my first masters since I was able to come in 4th place at the innaugural event a few years ago. I took a very filthy Skaven army to that event, and out of 5? games I played 3 Bret armies. Brets really didn't enjoy my list at all. I remember playing Phil Commins in the first game, I got a casting of Warplightning off on his big lance of 12 or so Realm knights killing 4 and panicking them off the board first turn, which helped! I also remember playing 2 Dark Elves as well, pushed around by Nick Buckby and Ant Kitson. I think i narrowly lost both games, but not 100% sure. Dave Grant ended up winning the event with his Ogres. He beat a lot of good armies with it, and was also able to ride the comp score really well. It would have been interesting for me to have played him, as I think I had the toys to take him on.

So I am taking my faithful Orcs and Goblins to the event. I had the choice to go with my Chaos Dwarfs or very shooty Dragon Dark Elves, but the Orcs are the army I feel most comfortable with, and they would have got angry with me if I didn't take them! Now that all the lists are in and available, I will post my list.

So first off I have dropped the Ng unit and Shaman for the Orc boys. I was finding that the NG were a unit that wasn't really pulling it's weight. They weren't hitty enough for a combat block, and I was finding using them as an anvil that my shaman would die. So I felt I really needed the 3rd combat block, enter the Orc boys. I used to run these guys all the time with my BO warboss and BSB in them and they were ok, but not that hitty. So I decided to run the second warboss in there. Now they can take things on much better.

Having the 2 lvl 2's isn't too bad, as when you roll 6 dice foot all day long and hope for the double 6, levels don't really matter!! Tactics FTW!!

I had my first game with the army last night against Hamish's army with 2 units of 5 Skullcrushers, knights and Warriors. He literally had no chaff, so the manglers had a free reign to damage one of the skull crushers. They are still very tough and took 4 turns to kill them. I manage to table him minus 8 Warriors.

There is a good mix of armies at the event, topped by some filthy filthy Skaven. Should be good and really looking forward to it. As for my chances, I am not really sure. Would love to hear some of your guys opinions on the lists and how you think the tournament will go down.

Saturday, 17 November 2012

So Vermintide was yesterday. I had a really great time and played against 5 really great people. Here are the results and my list.

Orc big boss on boar with sword of striking, dragonhelm and luckstone.

Orc level 2 on boar with ruby ring

5 Wolves

20 Ng with 2 Fanatics

18 savage big unz std muso

7 Trollz

2 Boar chariots

1 Wolf chariot

2 pumpwagons with outriggers.

So I managed to grab second which I was happy with. I also got the most butcher points which was cool. I got 2 out of 5 predictions correct, Joel winning and Peter 3rd. Not bad for a first attempt! I picked Joel to play Mike last round and win, but I actually ended up playing Mike and taking the win. The only way to beat Mikes list for me was to drop all my crap and wait to see where the flaming herald was going to go. Then I could re direct one of the bloodletter blocks out of the game and gang up on the rest of the army.

I played Caleb with Slaan lizards first up. I was worried about the skinks, but chariots and pumpwagons are my friends. Caled didn't roll regrowth with the slaan, so when a first turn foot killed about 9 temple guard, I could then confidently go into it with the trolls. It ended up full points to me.

Then a long came my old sparing partner Simon and his Dwarfs. So his canon ended up rolling a one for his cannon so it didn't turn up first turn. And as he was off building sandcastles in the corner, past the turn to me. I just barrelled everything forward as fast as pos. Highlights were one of my pumpwagons going 38" in two turns into the quarrellers, killing 2 and getting chopped to timber. Simon was good at picking targets with his cannon, and took all my chariots out. I managed to get all his stuff except for the BSB and half a unit, but my army was reallt fucked up by the time I got there. 11-9 to me.

Next was Matthew with......Dwarfs.....YAY!!!! This was watchtower. Managed to get the trolls in there and all game they stayed. A good hand roll on the NG meant I could put both fanatics through both of his warrior blocks for some heavy casualties. The wolf chariot managed to clean up the grudge thrower and organ gun after only 1 turn of shooting...phew. Ended on turn 4 after I rolled a 6 on the die. Full points to me.

So Ray was proving me wrong all tournament with the Daemon Prince. Now I had to play him. Ray is a great guy to play against, and I always enjoy the challenge. Highlights were a pumpwagon being charged by 5 chaos hounds, killing them over 3 rounds of combat, then helping with the combo charge along with wolf chariot and trolls + Big boss into tzeentch halberds with rage banner. Daemon prince charged a pumpwagon first turn then overran into the front of a boar chariot. I was able to charge the flank with my savages and other flank with other chariot and kill it. Big win to the O&G.

I played Mike last round. The only way to beat Mikes list for me was to drop all my crap and wait to see where the flaming herald was going to go. Then I could re direct one of the bloodletter blocks out of the game and gang up on the rest of the army. This is pretty much what happened. I managed to g Hand of Gork the savages a couple of times to try and get them into a good position, and out of a tight spot!! Managed to get a decent win out of it.

With Joel getting a big win over Peter last round, he was able to take out the tournament. Well done mate and well deserved. Would have loved a game against you to see how that would have gone down.

So the masters are up next for me. Time to put the Big Boy pants on I think.

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

So Neil has kindly sent out the first round draw. For those that are interested, I will run through the games and use my awesome Warhammering Skillzz* to predict the results of the first up games....

Peter with TK vs some other dead things. They both smell funny to an Orc. I reckon those Scorpions and Necro Kitty will be doing there best to killing blow that vamp and necro asap. The Ghouls are dangerous, but less so when they have to crumble. Big win to the sandy Williamson.

Fluffy Orcs vs Life Slaan in Temple Guard with all the poison in the world......I will let you guys decide this one.

Ray vs Aaron with Thundertusk Ogres. I would normally give this to Ray as he is a good player and very experienced. But I think he thought he was playing 40k when choosing a Daemon Prince. If Aaron can avoid getting the Mournfang and Thundertusk Gateway'd off, then he could pull off the win. Small margin though.

Bo's metal HE vs Joels Fuckin angry birds. Can Bo get some searing doom off early to cripple the Demi's? Otherwise I think the Angry Birds will be picking HE skirts from their teeth (Teeth?)at the end of this one.

Stuarts WOC vs Dave's Skaven toys. Like I said in my last post it depends on the Skaven toys. If they were brought cheaply at the $2 shop then I think it will be close, otherwise it will be a Fisher Price annihilation.

James's White Skirts vs Simon's "I wish I had Thorek" Dwarfs. I am going to give it to James for 2 reasons. Experience and White Lions. See ya second round Simon :)

Kents "Blot out the sun" WE vs Adams Dwarfs. If Adam didn't play Dwarfs I would fell sorry for him, but......Dwarf bolt throwers are going to be pretty useless this matchup. I can see Kent base-lining the shit out of this game. If Kent targets Quarrellers early, then I can see a big win for him.

Matthews "unpainted hordes" of HE vs Alexs/Joels WE. This is a hard one to pick for me. So I am going to say that lots of "Stupid smelly Elves" are going to die. 10-10

Johns "Push it forward FTW" Ogres vs Matthews Dwarfs. Wait...more Dwarfs...great. lol. I think it all depends on how depleted the mournfangs are before combat. I think the Ironblaster gives John the edge, and as I have picked him for my top 5, I will be giving him the win.

Mike's "Sack full of hammers" vs Thomas "Mad" Max. So the Tournament Vet Mike to go up against Thomas in his first Tournament. I don't know the numbers, but how well do Plague Monks do against Letters?? The Doomwheel and Plague Mortar will be troublesome, but I am giving this game to Mike. Although, this could be the upset of the round.

So thats what I think will go down. Please note I know nothing about Warhammer, so I studied the Internet for a good 3 hours today researching these results.

What are your opinions guys?

*Often confused with blind luck and rolling Foot of Gork. It is a legitimate strategy I promise!!

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

I guess it's my fault (or Ben's...Grrrrr). After taking the only level 4 to the tournament last year, and winning the thing, I thought I would take something more Fluffy to this years tournament as I felt this would be more in line with the "Theme of the Tournament".

It feels like I have fallen for someones well concieved trap..

Just joking. The armies that have been subbed are all strong armies. A Slaan!!! (really.....) The Mournfang and Demigryphs have also come out to play. And Mike with all subtlety(sp?) of a sack of hammers to the face. There seems to be an abundance of flaming banners and rings to kill my poor little Trolls :( Kinda feels like the War of the Beard too with all the Dwarfs and Highelves.

As for predictions, I think there are a few armies and players that stand out, so I will give you my top few placings.

I think the top 2 spots will be fought out between Mike with his Daemons of redness, and Joel with his fuckin angry birds. In that matchup if Joel can keep the letters away from his Halberds, I think the Demi's will do a number on the Letters.

Caleb and his Lizos have the ability to not loose if he doesn't want to, but can he push for the big wins??

David A has taken all the toys in the world, but are they made in China?? I don't know what I would do against those freekin gutter runners...

The Dwarfs are in town and have brought there warmachines and stuff..................sorry fell asleep there for a moment. I really don't know what Dwarfs do apart from shoot, not move, and build sandcastles.

All the Ogres are strong as normal..."push it foreward FTW". Nuf said.

High Elves will be squishy, sorry but I can't see them challenging. Although I haven't seen James's list yet.....

The Wood Elves will be annoying as shit. Alex's (sorry Joel's) list is well thought out and should be very tough to deal with if played correctly.

Sorry Ray but I can't see that Daemon Prince living very long. You must be in the same fluffy camp as me.

Then there is Mr Peter Williamson. His list will cause everybody headaches. I rate Peter as one of the top generals in the country, so when it comes to crunch time, I can see him sniffing around the top 3 spots.

I honestly don't know how to rate the VC list. Those 30 Ghouls could be problematic, but the rest seems squishy enough.

Thursday, 8 November 2012

So after finishing my DE, and not needing to add anything to my current O&G or CD army, it must mean only one thing....NEW ARMY TIME!!!!!

But what to do. I am always running army ideas through my head, most are crap, but sometimes one sticks.

As many of you know, I had a heavily converted Slaanesh themed WOC army, that some little maggots nicked from my house. I loved that army, so I think I am going to take what I learned from doing that one...and do the army again! I have some definate conversions in mind, I will go through a few of my ideas here. I will however be waiting for the new book before going balls out with it.

When the new WOC stuff came out, I was not a fan...at all. The warshrine is only good for bits, I have never really been a fan of Khorne stuff, and the marauders on steeds looked very lazy and do not look nice together....BUT, if you take the marauder bits and the steeds as seperate entities, they are really nice models. The steeds I like, and the Marauders are all Slaaneshi and stuff so will be perfect for my army. I will be using the crested helms for my knights and warriors, along with the shields bodies.

Now to me, Slaaneshi warriors and units would look a lot different to the other gods warriors. I would imagine them being very lithe and agile and not as bulky as the others. So what models to use?

I did some surfing on the GW website and come up with a few ideas.

I am going to use phoenix guard for my warriors. With a head swap with the Marauders from the Hellstriders and some greenstuffing and heavy filing I think they could really work.

I like the Chaos knight models, but again they are too bulky for my needs, enter the Dragon Princes. I have heaps of spare chaos bits, so I reckon the will chaosify pretty well.

The marauder horsemen are one of my favourite GW kits, so they will stay as the are.

I am still not sure what I will do for normal foot marauders, but I will prob wait for the new book to see if they are woth taking or not.

So if anyone is planning on getting the new Hellstriders, please let me know so I can bribe you to get some bits off ya!!

About Me

Hello enemies of Hashut.
I am an avid Warhammer player from the land of the long white cloud.
I collect Dark Elves, WOC, and of course CHAOS DWARFS!!!
I have been gaming for around 15 years, and love painting and converting. But going to tournaments is my favourite thing in the hobby.